Posted on January 6, 2025
BRUNSWICK — After being closed for a year, dredging is expected to start soon on North Park Lake in Brunswick.
Brunswick City Council awarded the contract to remove sediment from the lake to Fabrizi Trucking and Paving in an amount not to exceed $809,000 during its Nov. 11 meeting.
The project is partially funded by a $1.5 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant. The grant will fund 80 percent of the project, which is about $647,000 and the local share will be almost $162,000.
“If we started the work before we had all the paperwork done for the grant, then we would have to pay for it ourselves,” City Manager Carl DeForest said. “We didn’t want to do that, so that’s what kind of delayed that project.”
Brunswick says dredging the approximately 4-acre lake will have the following impacts:
- Restoring the lake to its original detention capacity.
- Reducing the amount of discharge after a storm.
- Reducing the peak flows and downstream flooding of nearby Healey Creek.
- Improving water quality of downstream Healey Creek.
DeForest said work is expected to start on or about Monday, and Fabrizi has 60 days to complete the dredging process. After work is complete, North Park will be open to the public once again.
The remainder of the grant funds will be used to increase the capacity of the Aster Place detention basin. The basin will be redesigned, so it fills up when it storms, which allowsslower water discharge into Healey Creek.
According to the city’s 2025 operating budget proposal, Brunswick received temporary eligibility for the Aster Place project. Yet, the city still has to go through another application process with the EPA to be formally approved to move forward with the project.
